Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick spoof boy bands in a groovy sequel with bonkers animation. Trolls Band Together can best be described as a psychedelic trip accompanied by decades of auto-tuned pop music hits. The third installment of the popular franchise gives youngsters boisterous sing-alongs while dropping naughty double entendres on their parents. A simple narrative of estranged siblings reuniting sets the stage for nonstop CGI dance numbers, crooning shenanigans, and dazzling multicolored visuals. It’s akin to a box of rainbow skittles erupting in your face.
Trolls Band Together opens in the past with pop group BroZone — yup, you read that right — getting ready for a make-or-break performance. John Dory (Eric André), the controlling eldest brother, wants everything perfect. He’s convinced they can hit the “perfect harmony.” The handsome Spruce (Daveed Diggs) argues John Dory’s ruining everyone’s fun. Clay (Kid Cudi), the middle brother and most logical, agrees. The sensitive Floyd (Troye Sivan) thinks that being in a boy band has become lame. The youngest, Itty Bitty B, a freaking adorable baby Branch (Timberlake) in diapers, watches helplessly as the performance devolves into an epic disaster. He’s left alone and heartbroken as his brothers go their separate ways.
In the present, Branch and Poppy (Kendrick) get ready to celebrate a joyous occasion. King Gristle Jr. (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Poppy’s bestie, Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), are getting married. Poppy catches Branch sneaking a peak at his BroZone memorabilia before the nuptials. She wonders what he’s hiding. Branch keeps his boy band past a secret until a wedding crasher spectacularly interrupts the ceremony.
Boy Band BroZone
Release Date November 17, 2023
Director Walt Dohrn, Tim Heitz
Cast Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Daveed Diggs, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kunal Nayyar, Kenan Thompson
Main Genre Animation
John Dory arrives with awful news. Pop stars Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannells) have kidnapped Floyd. They’ve trapped him in a diamond perfume bottle that steals his essence. The former social media influencers can’t sing or dance a lick. They are draining Floyd’s talent to fuel their musical careers. BroZone must get back together to save him before it’s too late. A hurt Branch still has lingering issues with his brothers but, of course, will join the rescue. Poppy can’t believe her beloved was in BroZone. A couple shouldn’t have any secrets. They embark together on a sonic adventure with bigger reveals in store.
Trolls Band Together is more creative than the previous films. The animation changes drastically as the protagonists encounter new characters. Spruce, who wants to be called Bruce as an adult, has a wife and children that look like sock puppets with yarn for hair. It’s all CGI, but the interactions have a cool stop-motion effect. John Dory drives this wild caterpillar/armadillo vehicle that has a “hustle” button. The characters morph into 2D drawings aided by a three-eyed genie that transports them through a swirl of tie-dye patterns. The unexpected hallucinogenic twist leads me to believe magic mushrooms may have been involved in the production process. It’s safe to say they’re not drug testing at DreamWorks Animation.
The trolls sing and boogie down to an unrelenting musical barrage. You’ll recognize every song but nothing plays longer than a minute. Kids will never get bored because there’s always something catchy blaring. The script’s dialogue is obviously written around the music. Golden oldies and dance classics are slickly interwoven with current Billboard singles at a frenetic pace. The soundtrack becomes a buffet of aural excess. I would have preferred longer routines, but the audience at my screening was clearly enthralled.
CGI NSYNC
Dreamworks Animation
Trolls Band Together has a lot of speaking parts from a diverse ensemble. They pop up like a game of Whac-A-Mole during the film. Walt Dohrn, who’s directed all three films, uses simple tricks to keep confusion to a minimum. The primary troll characters have different colors. The villainous Velvet and Veneer look like linguine with baseball-shaped heads. There’s the sparkling Tiny Diamond (Kenan Thompson) and odd little slugs who offer goofy reaction commentary. It’s an overload in the beginning, but the color scheme works. Parents who want to buy the toys will need to open their wallets. There’s a plethora of strange creatures clamoring for attention.
The boy band story arc incorporates the names of famous artists as a running joke. Screenwriter Elizabeth Tippet (Life in Pieces, The Millers) also wrote Trolls World Tour. She gets a golf clap for dropping New Kids on the Block, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees in casual conversation. I’m sure there are others I missed, but boy band aficionados will be delighted. She amiably ribs the teen idols and their throngs of shrieking, fainting fans.
Universal Pictures
Every musician that gave the film permission rights will undoubtedly see sales soar. There’s also a CGI NSYNC reunion with a new song in the finale. It could have been written by ChatGPT. Insert generic and vanilla pop track here. Trolls Band Together is 90 minutes of shameless commercialism. That’s to be expected. The film’s silly but achieves the difficult goal of keeping every age group glued to the screen.
Trolls Band Together is a production of DreamWorks Animation. It will be released theatrically on November 17th from Universal Pictures.
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